There are many great places to view migrating Gray Whales in December all along the Oregon Coast. On the North Oregon Coast, I would recommend Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach, the Highway 101 viewpoints from Neahkahnie Mountain near Manzanita or Cape Meares State Park west of Tillamook. On the Central Oregon Coast, I recommend…
Hi Linda, I am the AskOR Willamette Valley expert and I am happy to give you a few suggestions for enjoying our gorgeous region! First of all, for lodging, I would check out www.obbg.org if you are thinking you might enjoy a night in a B & B along your route. If you would like…
There are some serious fly fishers who will fish in March but I would say later in the spring it gets even better. Many of the rivers that get salmon and steelhead runs do not open until the third week of May to protect the young salmon and steelhead that are migrating to sea. Most lakes…
There are many beaches along Oregon’s 363 mile coastline where you will find agates. On the North Oregon Coast, I would recommend beaches south of Cannon Beach such as Arcadia Beach or Short Sand Beach (Oswald West State Park). Further south, Oceanside is known for agates where at low tide you can pass through a…
Ski season on Mount Hood can open as early as Halloween but the Thanksgiving weekend is generally the target date for all the resorts. If you really have the bug like me, Timberline runs limited operation on weekends starting in early October through the official resort opening when all lifts are operational. It is weather…
I would recommend checking out the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center/Wasco County History Museum in The Dalles, along with the Fort Dalles museum. You may also be interested in WAAAM (WAAAM: Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum) in Hood River. Definitely some interesting photographs of the vintage vehicles could be had there. While not indoors, I would…
If your idea of romantic spots is sharing spectacular scenery, your visit to the Oregon Coast will be a can’t-miss. I suggest you stop at the Oregon Welcome Center as you cross the state line near Brookings. Be sure to pick up information on the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor. You will enter this…
Perhaps the most well-known attraction in the Roseburg area is Wildlife Safari, a few miles away in the smaller town of Winston. Speaking from personal experience, this is fun for kids and adults alike. Here’s a story from the Mail Tribune newspaper’s Joy magazine about it: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070620/JOY/706200302&cid=sitesearch There’s also the Douglas County Museum of Natural…
I recommend a visit the Portland Art Museum to start! Portland also has a ballet, opera, and many theater options: http://www.portlandtheatre.com/calendar/index.php Most of these cultural offerings are in Downtown Portland. Adjacent is Portland’s Pearl District, a modern artsy neighborhood. I would also recommend visiting the Mississippi Avenue, Alberta St., Hawthorne Blvd, and Nob Hill neighborhoods.
There are some great family attractions on the coast. Obviously the beach is the number one attraction, but many communities also offer the opportunity to catch live crab off the docks which is always a hit with kids. You may want to consider some of the following: Seaside: Indoor carousel, kiddie rides and Seaside Aquarium….
You’re headed in the right direction for ghost towns. There are several near Baker City, including Bourne and Whitney, but they’re still a bit of a drive off I-84. If you pick up Highway 7 west of Baker City, you’ll traverse the Sumpter Valley to the near-ghost town of Sumpter, 28 miles away, which is…
From the coast, the most direct route to Eugene is from Florence on the Oregon Coast via OR 126 (just under 1.5 hours). You didn’t mention where you are traveling from, but it sounds like you may be coming from the north and you could easily spend four days traveling the North and Central coast…
In the Southern Oregon Region, the most beautiful site arguably is Crater Lake, the centerpiece of the state’s only national park and a sacred site to native tribes long before settlers “discovered it.” The summertime and wintertime landscapes each show unique facets of this natural wonder. In Southern Oregon, there are several sites I recommend…
I would recommend you plan your itinerary to base yourself strategically in two places and make day trips north and south from each base. For instance, to explore the South Coast, you could stay in Bandon and spend one day exploring north to the great State Parks southwest of Coos Bay (Shore Acres, Sunset Bay…
Most of the razor clamming on the coast is in Clatsop County (Warrenton to Cannon Beach). These beaches have the most stable populations of razor clams. There are other beaches that support razor clams including (north to south): Short Sands (Oswald West State Park); Cape Meares beach; Agate Beach; North Beach and South Beach (Newport);…
Yes… as a matter of fact, where I live in Albany, OR we are actually right in the middle of an awesome scenic bikeway. I actually have a B & B there and we get bicyclists from all over the world stay with us because of our location. Check out this site, and we often…
First of all, you can certainly fly in to the Medford area or begin even in Eugene or Portland. That depends on you of course. Portland is just shy of 2-1/2 hours north from the Eugene area. Medford is about 3 hours south of Eugene. So, if you fly in to Portland, you can spend one whole…
Sounds like you need to plan a trip to the Oregon Coast! If sun is an important part of the equation, you should plan your trip for July, August or September. Of course, the coast is spectacular no matter what the weather, but those are the months with the best chance of dry days and…
Thor’s Well is located near Spouting Horn at Cook’s Chasm in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area near Yachats. It can be viewed by taking the Captain Cook Trailhead from the Visitor Center where it is located on the rocky shelf just north of Cook’s Chasm. When tides are right, water surges upward from the bowl…
I believe I can give you some great ideas on how you can road trip your way around Oregon and see as much as possible in two weeks! First of all, let me say that either way you choose to travel, you will love it. I personally would love a road trip via motorhome because…
